McPeak, Express run past H'heads

HORSEHEADS – The Elmira Express spoiled Horseheads’ Homecoming football game Saturday by rolling to a 56-14 win over the Blue Raiders.

Led by 219 yards and four touchdowns rushing by Jerry McPeak, the Express (4-0) scored on each of its first eight possessions in the contest.

"We’re happy where we are, but we’re never too happy," Elmira head coach Jim McCauley said. "There are always things that we have to work on.

"I thought we hustled today and the kids had a good understanding of what we wanted to do – which was to be sound with our techniques."

McPeak, who was nearly late for the game’s opening kickoff following a pregame locker room accident, made his presence felt immediately, rushing 66 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown on Elmira’s first play from scrimmage.

McPeak added a 15-yard touchdown, while teammate Eli Thomas scored from 32 yards away as Elmira took a 22-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Express defense was also charged up, forcing a fumble and an interception on Horseheads’ first two possessions of the game.

"The defense did a great job of fulfilling our game plan and making necessary adjustments," McCauley said.

In the second quarter, Elmira posted a four-play scoring drive that covered 76 yards. Allaah Sessions broke off a 55 yard run to set up McPeak’s third TD run – from six yards out.

McPeak’s fourth touchdown of the first half was a 26-yarder, set up by a 43-yard passing play from quarterback Brad Baldwin to Darius Ham. McPeak amassed 187 yards rushing in the opening half as the Express took a 36-0 lead into the intermission.

"Elmira is big and strong and fast," Horseheads head coach Damian Saks said. "We just don’t have the speed to match up with those guys. They’re very physical up front. They have a bigger line than we do.

"(McPeak) is just super fast. You’re talking about a guy that’s an amazing sprinter. When he gets a little daylight – he’s gone."

"It’s a great win. We’ve been out working hard and doing what we need to do to get the win," McPeak said. "I put this on the linemen. Our linemen block hard and they block to the whistle."

Sessions closed the game with 68 yards rushing, followed by 60 yards from Thomas.

Horseheads closed the game with two fourth quarter scoring drives.

The first was a 12-play drive that covered 58 yards. Quarterback Clayton Troia completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Dan Stroman on a fourth-down play.

The second scoring drive was led by backup quarterback Ben Clark, who completed three passes, including a 45-yard TD throw to Tyler Wascher. Clark finished with 70 yards on three completions, while Troia threw for 58 yards on seven catches.

James Eastman was Horseheads’ leading rusher with 46 yards on seven tries, while Evan Stiles chipped in with 41 yards on 11 totes.

Elmira will host Corning at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, while Horseheads will travel to Vestal for a 7 p.m. contest Friday.